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Pholograpnic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STRICT 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


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la  derniire  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
ampreinte. 

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et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Las  diagrammes  suivants 
iilustrent  la  mAthode. 


1 

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3 

1 

2 

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l-^f 


V  I 


SPEECH 


OF 


MR.  AUGUSTUS  C.  DODGE, 


DELEGATE  FROM  IOWA, 


OK 


THE  OREGON  QUESTION. 


DELIVERED 


IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  7,  1846. 


I 


WASHINGTON: 

PRINTED  AT  THE  OFFICE  OF  BLAIR  AND  RIVES. 
1846. 


u  .  >.\ 


THE  OREGON  QUESTION. 


The  Resolution  from  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Affairs,  requiring  tlie  President  to  notifV  Great 
Britain  of  the  intention  of  the  United  States  to 
terminate  the  joint  occupancy  of  Oregon,  and  to 
abrogate  the  convention  of  1827,  being  under 
consideration  in  Committee  of  the  Whole — 

Mr.  DODGE  addressed  the  House  as  follows: 

Mr.  Chairman:  I  hope  that  the  resolution  now 
under  consideration  will  pass.  It  is  the  first  of  a 
series  of  measures  looking  to  the  assertion  and 
maintenance  of  our  rights  to  the  northwest  coast 
of  this  continent;  all  of  which  will,  I  trust,  receive 
the  early,  prompt,  and  favorable  action  of  the 
present  Congress.  The  time  has  come  when  the 
public  voice  der  lands  action  upon  this  Oregon 
fjuestion — the  greatest  question,  in  my  humble  es- 
timation, of  the  day.  It  is  one  which,  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent,  has  agitated  the  mind  of  the  people 
of  this  nation  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
and  upon  which,  in  the  recent  presidential  elec- 
tion, they  have  spoken  in  a  voice  not  to  be  misun- 
derstood. 

The  people  are,  sir,  upon  this  question,  as  they 
liave  always  been  on  all  great  questions,  immeas- 
urably in  advance  of  the  politician  and  the  legisla- 
tor. The  former  demand  action,  efficient  and  de- 
cided action;  the  latter  hesitate,  and  arc  afraid  of 
consequences.  If,  unfortunately,  war  should  grow 
out  of  the  exercise  of  our  "clear  and  unquestion- 
able rights,"  the  people,  whose  blood  and  whose 
treaaure  will  be  expended  in  that  war,  say,  "  let  it 
conic."    This  I  sincerely  believe  to  be  the  voice 


of  nine- tenths  of  the  American  people,  and  T  know 
it  to  be  the  united  voice  of  those  whom  I  rep- 
resent. They  are  a  frontier  people,  and  prefer 
peace;  but  they  are  brave,  and  will  ever  be  found 
ready  to  vindicate  their  rights,  and  those  of  the  na- 
tion; nor  will  they,  when  these  arc  assailed,  ever 
stop  to  inquire  whether  it  be  bjr  Great  Britain  or 
weak  and  divided  Mexico — whether  the  foot  of  the 
hostile  invader  treads  upon  southern  or  northern 
soil.  They  will  march  as  readily  and  as  cheer- 
fully in  defence  of  the  one  as  of  the  other. 

Sir,  if  any  apology  were  necessary  why  I  have 
departed  from  the  usual  course  of  Delegates  upon 
this  floor,  which  is,  not  to  speak  upon  questions 
other  than  those  relating  immediately  to  the  Terri- 
tories from  which  they  come,  it  must  be  found  in 
the  intense  interest  felt  by  the  constituency  tliat  I 
represent,  and  by  myself,  in  the  passage  of  this 
resolution,  and  its  other  kindred  measures — the 
bills  to  grant  lands,  erect  forts,  &c.,  all  having 
for  their  object  the  occupation  and  settlement, 
by  American  citizens,  of  the  territory  of  Oregon. 
1  feel,  sir,  that  1  should  but  poorly  reflect  the  views 
and  feelings  of  those  who  have  placed  me  upon 
this  floor,  and  do  injustice  to  my  own,  should  I 
fail  to  raise  my  voice,  feeble  tliough  it  may  be,  in 
support  of  these  measures;  and,  as  I  estimate  their 
importance,  it  is  to  mc  a  melancholy  reflection  that 
I  can  do  no  more  tlian  speak  in  favor  of  their  pas- 
sage. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  trust  that  it  may  not  bo  regard- 
ed as  inappropriate  in  ntc  so  fur  to  digress  from 


i  '  ■.  i  I  *  1  • » / 


■tif 

V  . 


the  milijrct  inunrdintcly  iindrr  rniisidcrnlion,  nfi  In 
advert  'o  n  tniiiMiction  whicli  litul  its  orit^in  in  tliis 
hall  nt  tiic  Inst  session  of  t^oiiKress,  nnd  which  mny 
hnve  nti  imporlaiu  bcnriiig  upon  ilic  ullininte  (Ute 
of  this  grcut  Aniericnn  qufsiioii.  It  will  be  remcm- 
liered,  sir,  tlint  nt  that  session  of  CongrcsH  the 
Territory  from  which  I  come,  having  then  much 
more  than  the  requisile  population,  presented  to 
this  House  n  conslilution  prei-rn'riently  republican 
in  all  its  features,  nnd  asked  mlniission  nito  the 
Union  upon  an  equal  footing  with  the  original 
States.  In  tin;  first  arlick-  of  diat  const'tulion  were 
defined  the  chosen  boundaries  of  the  people  of 
Iowa  for  tiu'ir  future  State.  Tlicy  were  !j;ood,  be- 
cause they  were  natural  boundaries.  1  he  great 
rivers — Mi.ssissippi  on  our  cast,  the  Missouri  on 
our  west,  and  the  .Saint  Peter's  on  the  north,  with 
n  short  artificial,  but  direct  line,  connecting  the  two 
hist-named  rivers — were  tlie  everlasting  State  divis- 
ional lines  upon  which  we  liad  fixed,  and  which 
are  so  plainly  indicated  by  the  hand  of  nature,  that 
to  adopt  others  is  a  manifest  interference  with  her 
designs.  They  embraced,  us  1  am  nuw  oificially 
informed,  but  nlxiut  fifty-seven  thousand  stiuare  i 
miles — ten  thousand  less  tlian  were  given  by  a 
common  parent  to  our  sister  Missouri;  and  made 
our  proposed  Stale  less  than  Virginia,  Georgia, 
Missouri,  ami  Michigan,  and  about  the  size  of  Illi- 
nois. What,  inider  these  circumstances,  hud  we 
a  right  to  expect?  Admission,  with  the  bound- 
aries of  our  selection,  as  every  other  new  State 
had  been  thus  admitted.  Not  so,  sir,  however, 
was  the  result.  And  against  the  solemn  protest  of 
the  humble  Delegate  who  now  addresses  you,  our 
long-cherished  boundaries,  at  one  fell  blow,  were 
stricl:en  from  our  constitution,  and  a  set  of  nrti- 
ficial  lines  imposed  upon  us,  which,  until  tiien,  we 
had  never  dreamed  of,  nnd  to  which  the  people  of 
Iowa  are  opposed.  Well,  sir,  what  may  be  the 
result  of  this  act  ?  And  to  that  I  wish  to  ask  the 
attention  of  western  gentlemen,  and  the  friends  of 
Oregon  everywhere.  If  rumor  be  not  sadly  nt  fault, 
I  say  to  them  that  they  have,  by  depriving  them- 
se'vcs  of  two  vote.j  froui  Iowa  in  the  other  end  of 
this  Capitol,  periled  the  fate  of  a  most  important 
portion  of  the  American  continent:  they  hnve  in- 
curred the  risk  of  losing  Oregon,  with  her  six  hun- 
dred thousand  square  miles  of  territory,  or  a  lar^e 
portion  thereof,  while  squabbling  with  Iowa,  their 
youngest  sister  and  neighbor,  for  a  few  hundred. 
One  among  the  many  gratifying  results  which  I 
anticipate  from  the  certain  posse.ssion  of  the  whole 
of  Oregon  by  our  Government  is,  that  the  people 
of  Iowa  will  be  allowed  the  boundaries  for  which 
they  are  so  anxious.  I  tell  gentlemen  that,  whether 
we  want  elbow-room  in  Iowa  or  not,  wc  are  in  ear- 
nest in  desiring  Stute-room. 

But,  sir,  to  return  to  the  question  immediately 
under  considerntion.  I  regard  the  notice  to  Great 
Britain  of  our  intcntio'i  to  dissolve  the  convention 
of  1818,  which  was  iiulcf.iitcly  continued  '-y  that 
of  1827,  as  highly  expedient  nnd  proper.  It  is,  as 
we  would  express  it  in  the  West,  removing  the 
underbrush,  which  is  in  the  way  of  the  buildings  we 
intend  to  erect.  These  conventions  have  worked 
great  benefits  to  the  l',ngli.«h,  and  nothing  but  inju- 
ries to  us.  But  for  them,  the  English  would  not 
now  have  the  shadow  of  foundutiun  upon  which  to 


rest  their  unjust  and  ridiculous  pretensions  to  the 
ownership  of  the  territory  in  question,  or  to  any 
portion  of  it. 

Mr.  Chairman,  the  whole  of  Oregon  is  ours — 
ours  from  first  discovery  and  from  firs'  settlement, 
strengthened  by  a  cession  to  us  of  all  tin  '■laimsof 
France,  Spain,  and  Russia.  Ihit  it  is  not  my  purpose 
to  discuss  the  title.  I  nm  willing  to  let  it  stand  uiuin 
th(!  impreglinble  grounds  upon  which  it  has  been 
(laced  by  our  present  talented  Secretary  of  Slule, 
Mr.  Buchanan,]  and  by  his  able  predece-isor,  [Mr. 
Calhoun;]  their  urgumcnis  in  support  of  our  title, 
with  iho.He  which  have  been  made  in  both  Houses 
of  Congress  during  the  present  and  previous  ses- 
sions, for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  have 
never  been  answered, and  in  my  humblir  estimutiun 
never  can  l)e  by  the  advocates  of  the  British  title. 

The  truth  is,  sir,  that  no  other  Government  in 
Christendom  than  that  of  Great  Britain  would  have 
the  hardihood  to  stand  up  and  press  n  claim  to  terri- 
tory, resting  upon  pretensions  so  llimsy  as  those 
upon  which  hers  to  the  country  in  question  are 
biuted.  And  in  the  name  of  God  and  the  people  1 
represent,  I  say,  let  un  neither  be  tricked  nor  bullied 
out  of  our  territory.  Let  us  then  move  forward. 
The  eyes  of  the  country  are  anxiously  turned  to- 
wards the  present  Congress;  and  I  tell  gentlemen, 
unless  this  notice  is  pa.ssed  and  followed  l)y  the  . 
other  measures  recommended  lo  us  by  the  Presi-  i 
dent,  that  those  who  shall  a.-^sume  the  reHponsibili  - 
ty  of  defeating  them  will  find,  too  late,  that  they 
have  incurred  the  laating  displeasure  of  their  coun- 
ti-y. 

Air.  Chairman,  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
population  of  Oregon  has  gone  thither  from  lown, 
and  I  have,  from  sym])athy  and  association,  a  feel- 
ing of  strong  uttuchmont  for  them,  and  for  the 
pioneer  in  whatever  part  of  the  country  his  lot 
may  be  east.  You  mny  imagine,  then,  sir,  the 
feelings  of  astonishment  and  regret,  not  to  say 
indignation,  with  which  I  listened  lo  the  extraor- 
dinary, unjust,  and  unjustifiable  attack  of  the  gen- 
tleman from  Virginia,  [Mr.  Penoletov,]  upon  the 
people  of  the  .vestern  States  and  Territories  gene- 
rally, nnd  those  of  Oretjon  in  puriiculur.  I  allude 
to  tnc  sneering  manner  in  which  he  spoke  of  Pres- 
ident Polk's  rccoinmcntlalion  to  "  facilitate  emi- 
gration to  Oregon,"  and  to  protect  our  "patriotic 
pioneers  who  are  there." 

The  gentleman  from  Virginia  calls  these  pioneers 
"  restless  and  wayward  wanderers."    He  says: 

"  Rentlemnn  toll  ua  of  llie  nttncliinont  of  tlicse  people  tn 
tliejr  (lenr  native  Innd.  Why  do  tlicy  leave  it,  sir.'  Why 
U  it  that,  with  iasliiieUvn  aversion,  tiiey  retire  before  tin- 
iidv.ince  of  civilization,  prefcrriiis  the  wilil  excitement  nnd 
tiie  rusgcd  discoinfurts  of  the  wilderness  fo  thi;  repose,  the 
security,  nnd  the  refincinents  of  siiciid  nnd  cultivntid  life.' 
Thuy  manifest  their  attnehment  by  disregnrdin;;  the  influ- 
ences thnt  hind  ordinary  men  to  the  pinecs  of  their  nativity, 
by  snapping  reeklestly  till!  ties  of  blood  nnd  kindred  nriit 
social  connexions,  nnd  cnlmlynnd  of  their  own  free  ehoire. 
deserting  ui|cnernu8  soil  nnd  uccnial  climo.  Abandoning  tbt 
henrths  und  the  nllnrs  of  their  ehildlio'irt  nnd  youth,  tliey  toil 
throiiKh  a  vast  and  cheerless  wilderness,  to  enin  a  home  so 
inhospitable  and  rude,  tlmt,nccordini{  to  thi;  learned  Rcntle 
man  from  Philadelphia,  it  takes  the  genitis  of  Shakspeaff 
to  do  justice  to  its  horrors."  •  •  •  '<  It  is  not  the  policy 
of  our  Uovernment  to  be  running  over  the  no'ld  looking  | 
after  citizens  whose  allegiiincc  is  manifested  only  by  acts  of  i 
expatriation." 

Again,  the  same  gentleman  says:   "  I  protest 


old  Vi 


in  that 

of  "( 

ties  n( 

applie 

grim 

town 

tors 

these 

tlemai 

by  w 

noble 

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IctcnnionB  to  the 
ptinii,  or  to  any 

|rrg(in  in  mm — 

firH'  scttlciiK.'iit, 

nil  till  '•liiiiiiBof 

imtiiiy  |)urj)()8e 

ct  it  Klaixl  iijmii 

|liii'li  it  liMH  lircn 

iTtary  of  Slate, 

t(leccs«(ir,  [Mr. 

>or(  of  our  title, 

in  Ixitli  IIouHrN 

iJ  previous  nes- 

n  (•(•titury,  linve 

inill)'i'.stiiiiutiun 

le  Rritisli  title. 

Govcrnnicnt  in 

tain  would  have 

H  a  claim  to  terri- 

tliin.sy  as  those 

in  qiiesiion  are 

and  the  people  1 

rickiil  nor  bullied 

I  move  forward. 

oiinIv  turned  to- 

I  tell  gentlemen, 

followed  by  the 

un  by  the  I'regi- 

e  the  responsibili- 

>o  late,  that  Ihey 

lure  of  their  coun- 

proportion  of  the 
hither  from  (own, 
issoeiation,  a  feel- 
hem,  mid  for  the 
e  country  his  lot 
nc,  then,  sir,  the 
egret,  not  to  say 
led  to  the  extraor- 
attark  of  the  gen- 
ni.ETON,]  upon  the 
I  Territories  grnr- 
rticular.  I  allude 
he  spoke  of  I'res- 
1  "  facilitate  emi- 
ect  our  "  patriotic 

alls  these  pioneers 
rs."    He  says: 

m  of  tlicsc  pnople  tn 
r  lonveit,  sir?  Why 
icy  retire  bcl'urc  tin- 
wild  cxcitciiiciit  and 
!ss  to  tiic  repose,  ihc 
il  and  cultivated  life'  I 
srcpirdins  the  inttu-  ] 
iPCHof  their  iKiiivity.  < 
ixl  and  kindred  niid 
icirowii  free  choice, 
iinc.  Aliandoiiini;  the 
i1  and  youth,  they  toil 
iS,  to  gnin  a  home  so  ' 
o  the  Icurni'd  RcnlK' 
[cnitis  of  Klmkspcaro 
*'  It  i«  not  the  polict 
■r  till"  ivo'lil  lookine 
fcslcd  only  Ay  actsi'i 

lays:   "  I  protest 


'against  f/ifir  riijht  (the  western  Rtnte.M)  to  deride 
'  when  we  are  ;o  go  to  war  for  this  mist  ruble  and 
'woitlilisii  te.iii:(iiij."  The  attack  upon  the  value 
of  Oregon  i.-^,  sir,  but  a  repetition  of  the  federal 
slang  whid.  was  ajiplii'd  to  the  whole  Mis.slsMippi 
valley  when  it  was  purchased  under  the  miiue  of 
Loui.'Uinu,  in  HO^,  by  Mr.  Jeflersoii.  Yis,  sir, 
the  iMiMsis.iippi  valley,  of  who.se  e.\l<'Mt,  of  whose 
fertility  and  iiuiunienible  ailvanl.iges,  it  is  uniiei'.ci- 
sary  at  this  day  I  .^hould  speak,  was,  by  the  ene- 
mies to  its  ae(itiisition,  denounced  a.s  "a  bog  wil- 
derness filled  with  savages,  outlaws,  and  runaway 
negroes, "and  it  was  said  it  was  only  fit  to  be  kept 
as  "an  untrodden  waste  for  owls  to  hoot  and 
wolvt»«  to  howl  in  !" 

The  lugubrious  iin'-dictions  of  the  enemies  of 
Oregon  will  fall  as  far  short  of  realization,  should 
it  be  thrown  open  to  Anieriean  enlerpri.-ie,  as  have 
lho.se  which  were  made  by  the  Kedcralists  against 
Louisiana.  Carry  out  the  measun  s  eoiiteniplated 
by  the  bills  to  which  I  have  n  ferred,  coniieet  the 
triuh'.  of  the  C'oliimliia  and  tlie  Pacific  coast  with 
tliat  of  the  Mis.soiiri  and  the  Mississi|)iii,  and  you 
will  open  n  mine  of  wealtli  to  the  siiippmg  iiiteresl.s 
and  to  the  whole  country,  the  extent  and  value  of 
which  the  most  sanguine  now  umler-eslimate.  Of 
the  advantages  wliic.h  we  will  derive  fVom  the  Clii- 
nisc  and  Asiatic  trade,  which  will  thus  lie  thrown 
fi[  en  to  us,  1  can  do  no  more  than  allude.  Our  prox- 
imity to  those  ain'ient  and  densely  pojiulated  por- 
tions irf  the  Old  World — the  nature  ami  exuberance 
of  our  productions,  whicli  are  ncM'es.sary  to  feed 
their  starving  millions — will  enable  us  to  carry  on 
;\  eomiiicrce  with  the  people  of  those  countries  in 
articles  thiit  will  purchase  their  manufactures  and 
products  at  better  profit  than  gold  and  silver. 

I  regr<;lled,  sir,  to  hear  a  Ilepresentative  from  good 
old  Virginia — the  State  of  \V  ashiiigton  and  Jelfer- 
son,  the  State  whose  uii|mralleled  munificence  has 


•u  with  I'Vdera!  halters arounil  tlieir  neck."." 
FCentucky  was  setlli'd   by  Daniel    IJooiie   in  1773. 


p;us 
:  the 


of  freedom — thus  attack  the  men  who  are  engaged 
in  that  great  work.  Sir,  the  gentleman's  cTiarge 
of  "  cx|»alrintion" — "  of  siuipping  recklesrly  tlie 
ties  of  blood  and  kindred  and  socialconnexioiis" — 
applies  with  equal  or  greater  force  to  the  Pil- 
grim fathers  and  to  the  early  setders  at  James- 
town in  his  own  State,  nnd  to  those  of  our  nnce.i- 
tors  who  branched  off  in  difTerent  directions  from 
these,  the  first  pioneers  to  America.  Has  the  gen- 
tleman from  Virginia  so  soon  forgotten  the  process 
by  which  and  the  sort  of  men  by  whom  \\h  own 
noble  old  Coinmoh  alth  was  jieopled — ay,  sir, 
how  this  whole  continent  has  been  settled.'  The 
first  charter  granted  by  King  James,  in  1(!00,  to 
Virginia,  limitt^d  the  settlements  to  one  hundreil 
miles  in  the  interior.  In  subsequent  acts  of  n 
similar  character  tlicse  boundaries  were  somewhat 
extended.  But  soon  we  find  the  authority  of  the 
Crown  interposed  to  prevent  "  llie  restless  and 
wayward  wanderers"  of  the  "Old  Doniinion" 
from  settling  west  of  the  Allediany  mountains, 
which  proved,  like  the  efTorts  of  our  own  Govern- 
ment at  a  later  jieriod,  to  be  altogether  u  vain  at- 
tempt. To  use  the  words  of  a  celebrated  writer, 
"  the  ball  of  empire  was  rolling  to  the  West," 
and  no  power  of  any  Governmeiu  could  check  or 
Ktay_  its  progress.  And  it  is  a  melanelioly  fact,  the 
k'nicl: 


western  history,  that  the  Oovrrnment  of  thrronn- 
try — and  I  say  ii  with  feelings  of  the  dei'pecl  mor- 
tification— ha.s,  to  a  very  great  extent,  miinirested 
towards  the  advancing  jiioiicers  of  the  West  much 
of  that  uiiiialural  luisiifily  and  indiHerence  which 
the  gentleuKui  from  Virginia  has  so  lioldly  pro- 
claimed. A  gl.ince  at  that  history  will  attest  tho 
truth  of  what  I  s,\y,  that  the  great  work  of  extend- 
ing the  empire  of  this  country  has  been  flTcrltilhy 
the  /)f<)/)/( ,  in  i>ii)msil\iin  In  the  (liirtrnim  nt.  Yes,  sir, 
ly  "  men 
\entuck; 

This  extraordinary  man  and  his  few  noble  and 
adventurous  companicuis  occupied  the  "  dark  and 
blo.')dy  laud"  in  violali(Ui  of  the  proclamation  of 
George  III.,  issued  ten  years  before,  nnd  defended 
i'  for  sixteen  liiiiir  yiars  with  their  own  blmid  and 
treasure,  nnd  laid  llie  foundation  of  its  present 
high  state  of  improvement  lUid  grandeur.  Sir, 
the  reprfsenlalion  of  Roonc  which  is  seen  over  tho 
door  of  your  Ilotunda  opening  into  this  Hall,  is 
truly  emolemntic  of  tiie  man  and  men  by  whom 
the  western  country  lias  been  settled. 

Temies.sce  was  settled  at  a  subsequent  period, 
contrary  to  the  express  order,  both  of  thi.<  Gov- 
ernment and  that  of  N(n-th  Carolina;  and  I  liclieve 
it  is  a  [Mirtion  of  the  history  of  those  times,  that 
Governor  Sevier,  a  gentleman  of  great  enterprise, 
high  integrity  and  honor,  was  even  nuttiiirfd  for 
having  the  boldness  to  go  beyond  the  limits  na- 
signed  to  the  people  by  their  Government.  The 
Tenncsseans,  like  the  Kentuckinns,  were  hard 
|)r(;ssed  by  the  numeriuisand  warlike  Indinn  tribes, 
who  then  inhabited  the  country  which  now  con- 
stitutes their  State.  During  twelve  years  of  In- 
dian warfare — from  17H0  to  1792 — with  thi'  merci- 
less seulping-knife  and  war-club  suspended  over 
the  heads  of  their  wives  and  children,  they  in  vain 
besought  the  I''ederal  Government  for  help  ond 
protection,  but  none  was  nfTorded  them;  ana  their 
own  expeditions  against  the  Indians,  who  had  at- 
tacked their  selllemeiits,  were  often  recalled  Ly 
orders  from  the  Government.  In  violation  of  the 
commands  of  Congress,  the  brave  and  patriotic 
Tenuesseans  swam  the  river  that  gives  name  to 
their  State,  threr-(piarters  of  a  mile  in  width,  in 
the  dead  hour  of  night,  shoving  their  arms  before 
them  on  rafts,  and  fought  the  battle  of  Nickajac, 
memorable  in  Tennessee  history  for  having  given 
permanent  peace  to  their  frontier  settlements.  This 
campaign,  I  say,  w-ns,  in  legal  accepUition,  a  Inw- 
lu.ss  invasion  on  a  friendly  tribe  of  Indians,  result- 
ing from  the  rcfu.sal  of»  Congress,  as  the  Journals 
show,  to  furnish  military  ai([  for  their  defence. 

Tho  appropriate  and  eloquent  allusion  which 
was  made  by  my  esteemed  friend  from  Illinois, 
[Mr.  R.  Smith,]  to  the  gallantry,  perscvenmcc, 
and  indomitable  courage,  tact,  nnd  skill,  of  that 
greatest  of  all  partisan  warriors — George  Rogers 
Clark,  who  wns  .so  appropriately  termed  the 
Hannibal  of  the  West — renders  it  unnecessary 
that  I  should  attempt  to  add  anything  to  what  has 
been  said,  and  so  well  said  by  him,  in  regard  to 
the  early  history  of  Illinois.  Nor  need  I  repeat 
the  sufferings,  privations,  and  dangers  wliicli  her 
early  settlers,  unaided  by  the  Federal  Goiernment, 
were  compelled  to  encounter.     This  <Iuty  has  been 


truth  ol  wliich  is  engraven  ujioii  every  page  of  I  performeil  by  my  friend,  the  ever-fuithful  and  vtn- 


7\ 


ity  1 
liful 


6 


1. 


tiring  Rrprcsnilntivf!  of  the  iliNlrirt  which  wns  IliC 
thiuli'c  of  ihe.si'  I'liily  oxploiln,  ntid  in  which  thiTf 
arc  many  |)f:riioiiM  now  rcMidiiig  who  |mrtici])utL-d 
in  thcni. 

A  more  recent  cxnmplc  in  HflTordcd  ub  in  the  sct- 
tlenii'iit  of  "  Uuone'M  Lick,"  tliefincHt,  lairi'Ht,and 
mpfit  fertile  pnrl  of  the  niiij^niflccnt  Stale  of  Mis- 
Bouri.  The  HooneN,  the  CooperH,  and  many  other 
cnterpriMin^:  individuals,  advancing  beyond  the  few 
French  and  Spaniwh  HclllcnientM  that  then  dotted 
the  we.-*(ern  whore  of  the  MirisisHippi,  Houf^ht  the 
district  of  country  of  whii'h  1  am  Hueakin^,  and 
occupied  it  contrary  to  the  wiNhes  and  authority  of 
this  Qovrrnment,  and  defended  tlieniHcivcs,  but 
not  without  the  Iohs  of  many  valuable  lives,  n^aiuNt 
numerous  attacks  of  powerful  and  hostile  tribes  of 
Indians  by  whom  they  were  surrounded. 

Northern  IllinoiH,  Wisconsin,  and  Iowa,  were 
also  settled  under  like  circumstances.  I  may  say 
of  my  nearest  relative,  us  was  said  of  Governor 
Sevier,  he,  too,  was  pronounced  un  outlaw  l)y  the 
officers  of  the  Qovernment.  Tlie  first  official  doc- 
uments I  ever  remember  to  have  heard  read,  were 
read  at  my  father's  log  cabin,  by  the  officers  and 
agents  of  the  United  States,  to  himself  and  neigh- 
bors, who  had  assembled  to  hear  them.  They 
were  mandates,  commanding  us  in  the  name  and 
by  the  authority  of"  Uncle  Sam,"  not  exactly  lo 
disperse,  but  to  withdraw  from  the  country  in 
which  we  had  then  settled,  under  the  general  pains 
and  pcnal'.ics  of  the  law  in  such  ca.se  made  and 
provided;  but  more  particuliuly  of  expulsion  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet.  But,  sir,  we  did  not  go. 
We  treated  the  officers  with  every  civility  in  our 
power,  and  informed  them  that  any  nOier  order 
they  might  issue,  than  one  to  abandon  the  prem- 
ises upon  which  we  had  settled,  should  be  proini)t- 
Iv  obeyed.  Owing  to  our  interior  position,  and 
the  rigors  of  the  climate,  at  tlie  time  of  which  I 
now  speak,  these  settlers  were  not  marched  upon 
by  the  regular  soldiers,  but  muintained  their  posi- 
tion. Many  of  them  now  own  the  land  upon 
■which  they  were  then  squatters,  and  the  country 
is  densely  populated — the  inlmbitonts  hoving  de- 
fended it,  through  two  Indian  wars,  are  now  indus- 
triously engaged  in  developing  its  resources,  both 
agricultural  and  mineral. 

Not  so  fortunate,  however,  were  my  immediate 
constituents  who  settled  iowa  six  years  after- 
wards. These  hardy  and  adventurous  men  from 
the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  who  had  lost  the 
entire  spring  and  summer  in  defending  themselves, 
their  wives  and  their  children,  (Vom  the  incursions 
of  Black  Hawk  and  his  followers,  and  who  had 
led  the  van  in  every  encounter  with  those  Indians, 
sought  to  ex|)lore  the  rich  mines  and  settle  the  val- 
uable lands  of  Iowa.  The  power  and  arms  of  their 
Government  were  immediately  directed  against 
them;  and  I  have  now  in  my  eye  a  gallant  and 
esteemed  friend  and  talented  Representative  from 
the  State  of  Mi.ssissippi,  [Jekkerson  Davis,]  who 
was  then  an  officer  in  the  army,  and  at  the  head  of 
a  military  force,  expelled  some  three  hundred  of 
my  constituents  from  the  spot  where  now  stands 
the  city  of  Dubuque,  with  a  population  of  nearly 
three  thousand  inhabitants.  It  was  to  my  frientl 
the  performance  of  an  unwelcome  duty,  kindly  and 
courteously  executed  by  him,  fur  his  sympathies 


nrr  all  with  the  fiontier  peoiilc.nnd  I  cnlf  iilate  most 
certainly  upon  his  vote  anil  inlliii  iice  lo  grnni  pre- 
emption rights  lo  those  whom  he  was  Ihu '  coii- 
Rtrained  to  drive  from  their  honirs,  anil  of  which 
they  have  never  yet  had  a:i  o|ip(irtiinily  lo  become 
till!  purchaserH.     [Mr.  I>avis  nodded  assent.] 

Tlie  first  settlers  of  Kiirlington  (now  one  of  the 
largest  towns  north  of  St.  Louis)  were  driven  off, 
and  their  houses  thrown  down  and  burnt  by  offi- 
cers of  the  Goverinnent,  although  the  country  had 
then  been  purchased,  i)ut  the  treaty  not  yet  rati- 
fied: thus  showing  that  the  people  must  forever 
await  the  lardy  action  of  C!ongress.  Similar  Hc.enca 
of  opposition  and  persecution  allcndcd  the  settle- 
ment of  the  "  Lovely  Purchase"  in  Arkansas,  the 
"  Platte  Purchase"  in  Missouri, and,  more  recent- 
ly, the  Des  Moines  settlemcnis  in  Iowa.  And  so  it 
has  ever  been,  that  those  holding  authority,  wheth- 
er royal,  imperial,  and,  I  am  sorry  to  aild,  or  re- 
publican, all  seem  lo  have  taken  upon  themselves 
the  exclusive  privilege  of  thinking  for  the  people, 
of  checking  the  progress  of  population  in  one  direc- 
tion, and  fixing  lioundaries  to  it  in  another.  Thin 
disposition  of  Government  has  cheeked  emigra- 
tion; but,  thank  God,  desjiite  nil  opposition,  it  has 
rolled  steadily  onward  unlil  it  has  reached  the  Pacific 
and  the  Rio  del  Norte,  and  Icjjislation  being  unable 
to  stop  the  career  of  the  pcopit-,  has  slowly  and  re- 
luctantly followed  in  their  footsteps. 

Sir,  as  I  before  said,  the  Oregon  emigrants  arc 
but  acting  precisely  upon  Jie  .same  nrini'iple  which 
has  directed  the  progress  of  population  from  the 
time  that  oui' ancestors  first  lanilcil  in  Massachusetts 
and  Virginia,  down  to  the  date  of  the  latest  setlle- 
mt.it  on  this  side  of  the  Rocky  mountains:  and  if 
Ihty  he  guilty,  who  are  innocent?  Sir,  the  Ameri- 
can pioneer  is  impelled  onward  by  the  strongest 
motives  to  human  action — the  consideration  of  Det- 
tering  his  condition;  and  still  more,  that  of  benefit- 
ing his  children.  And  what,  I  ask,  has  been  the  re- 
sult of  this  process  of  "expatriation" — this  "snap- 
ping recklessly  the  tics  of  blood  and  kindred,  and 
social  connexions  ?"  It  has  brought  into  the  Union 
fifteen  new  States,  with  two  more  soon  to  follow,  in 
as])uceof  lime  covering  but  fifty-three  years;  and  it 
has  increased  the  population  from  three  to  twenty- 
five  millions.  What  more,  sir,  has  it  done.'  It 
has  reclaimed  an  almost  boundless  w  ilderness  from 
the  possession  of  savage  beasts  and  still  more 
savage  men,  ond  reduced  it  into  fruitful  fields  and 
cultivated  lands.  Carrying  with  them  the  Bible 
and  the  plough — the  two  greatest  civilizers  of  man- 
kind— the  pioneers  in  their  westward  march  have 
facilitated  improvement  and  dispensed  comfort, 
happiness,  and  blessings  around  them.  Sir,  I  envy 
not  the  feelings  of  that  man  who  regrets  the  trans- 
formation of  the  extended  and  gloomy  forest,  or 
the  dull  monotonoui  prairie,  which  hide  within 
their  bosoms  all  that  is  neces.sary  to  the  subsist- 
ence, comfort,  and  wealth  of  man,  into  a  land 
teeming  with  millions  of  enterprising  freemen,  in- 
dustriously engaged  in  developing  lis  hidden  re- 
sources, and  thereby  making  it  the  theatre  of  man's 
highest  destiny  on  earth  ! 

Sir,  if  ever  there  was  a  prayer,  deep,  solemn,  earn- 
est— if  ever  a  supplication  which  should  find  an  in- 
slanlaneinis  response  in  the  hearts  and  acts  of  on 
American  Congress,  it  is  that  which  was  read  at 


« 


I 


^il 


your  table, 
from  the  An 
of  the  Pacifi 
and  flesh  ' 
the  jdighlc 
choice,  thai 
fd  over  the 
libend  grai 
na  ihev  are 
ment  io  the 
Mr.  Clm 
foundation 
Pacific,  is 
In  addition 
the  distanc 
from  the 
Oregon 
over  whici 
with  numi 
first  sciili 
tend  with 
daunted  fi 
pose  can 
children,  t 
sand,  mall 
cumstiuicc 
Governnie 
utes,  wliic 
try,  have 
time  and 
Qovcrnmt 
an  army  o 
marched 
and,  it  is 
fertile  vail 
one  hundJ 
the  last  yfl 
Behold 
burst  into 
constitutii 
Shall  it  rt 
by  our  st 
cnce,  lost 
I  speak 
of  th-.  clu 
dication  ( 
being  ex 
and  unm 
nia,  and 
Hint]  fi 
ler  of  till 
Sir,  I 
tion,  my 
ulation  a 
be  wanti 
false  to 
and  trai 
was  bor 
cr,  and 
that  pel 
am  now 
as  yet, 
or  othei 
I  ha^ 
jurisdit 
let  my 
under  I 
and  re 


iiliiiomoKi 
:,'i'nni  pre- 
Oiu '  I'dii- 
I  "f  wliicli 
Id  lirr.oiiic 
wilt,] 
oik;  of  th(! 
•Irivcii  ofT, 
rit  by  om- 
uiitry  hud 
yet  ruti- 
ift  forrvcr 
iilar*',cn»'s 
tlio  Nctile- 

nilMll.H,  til,; 

!•«'  rercnt- 
Aiid  NO  it 
ty,wh('tli- 
uil,  or  re- 
lu'itisplves 
people, 
>iic  dirrc- 
Tliis 
<l  fmiffra- 
ioii,  it  hns 
itic  I'acific 
in;;  iinahio 
ly  and  re- 


your  lal)Io,  nl  an  raily  day  of  llir  preneiU  sfSBion, 
from  the  Aincrii'aiicili/.ciiH  now  m'ttlid  on  llu;  couHt 
of  liic  I'licifir.  Thcso  pcoiilc,  sir,  "bono  of  our  bone 
and  flesh  of  our  flt^aii,'  have  gone  tliitlicr  under 
the  jili;,'htcd  faith  of  tliiN,  the  aovcrnnienl  of  tlicir 
choice,  that  the  h^K'"  of  our  hiws  would  be  cxtcnil- 
cd  over  thcin,  forts  liuilt  for  their  protection,  and 
liberal  graiiLt  of  land  made  to  them.  For,  situated 
ns^they  are,  these  measurea  arc  of  the  utmuut  mo- 
ment to  them. 

Mr.  Cliairmnn,  to  plant  a  colony  «nd  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  a  Stale  or  .States  on  the  coast  of  the 
Pacific,  iH  nn  cntcrpriso  of  no  ordinary  character. 
In  addition  to  the  natural  dilficulties  arisiiii;  from 
the  distiinco  which  our  emigrants  have  to  travel 
from  the  settled  portions  of  the  country  to  reach 
Orcfjon — the  wilaerness  character  of  the  region 
over  which  they  have  to  pas.s,  infested  as  it  is 
with  numerous  and  hostile  tribes  of  Indians — the 
first  settlers  of  any  country  have  always  to  con- 
tend with  innumerable  obstacles,  which  only  un- 
daunted firmness  of  mind  and  constancy  of  pur- 
pose can  overcome.  These  men,  women,  and 
rhildrei),  to  the  number  of  from  seven  to  ten  thou- 
sand, many  of  them  in  extremely  indigent  cir- 
cumstiuiccs,  unaided  by  the  jiowerftil  arm  of  their 
Government,  and  in  violation  of  its  penal  stat- 
utes, which  forbid  them  to  enter  the  Indian  coun- 
try, have  accomplished  that  which  it  has  been 
time  and  again  asserted,  on  this  floor,  that  the 
Oovcriimcnt  of  the  United  Stales  could  not  do  with 
nn  army  of  paid  and  mounted  soldiers.  They  have 
marched  to  the  Pacific,  maintained  themselves, 
and,  it  is  staled  on  good  authority,  raised,  in  tlic 
fertile  valleys  of  the  Columbia  and  the  Wullamcltc, 
one  hundred  thousand  bushels  of  su>7</i(s  wheat,  of 
the  last  year's  crop. 

Behold  the  germ  of  a  mighty  empire  which  hns 
burst  into  existence,  as  it  were  but  yesterday,  and 
constituting  an  integral  portion  of  our  favorcif  land  ! 
Shall  it  remain  uncarea  for — unprotected — and  be, 
by  our  studied  neglect  and  cold-blooded  indiflcr- 
cnce,  lost  to  us.'   I  trust  not,  sir. 

I  speak  thus  feelingly,  Mr.  Chairman,  in  support 
of  thi,  claims  of  our  settlers  in  Oregon  and  in  vin- 
dication of  the  characters  of  the  western  pioneer, 
being  excited  to  do  so  by  the  ungenerous  sneers 
and  unmerited  attack  ot  he  gentleman  fi-om  Virgi- 
nia, and  also  by  the  remarks  of  my  friend  [Mr. 
Hint]  from  New  York,  on  the  "lawless"  charac- 
ter of  tlie  ft-onticr  population. 

Sir,  I  reiterate,  that  from  sympatliy  and  associa- 
tion, my  feelings  of  attachment  to  the  frontier  pop- 
ulation arc  strong.  Were  they  otherwise,  I  should 
be  wantinjr  in  the  finer  and  better  feelings  of  man, 
false  to  all  the  obligations  of  duty  ond  gratitude, 
and  traitorous  to  the  land  of  my  nativity.  For  I 
was  born  in  a  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi  riv- 
er, and  have  resided  through  my  whole  life  amonij 
that  people  who  inhabit  llic  extreme  frontier.  I 
am  now  thirty-four  years  of  age,  and  have  never, 
as  yet,  had  a  voice  in  the  election  of  a  President 
or  other  ofliccr  higher  than  the  one  I  now  fill. 

I  have  lived  many  years  of  my  life  without  the 
jurisdiction  of  magistrates  or  law  ofany  kind.  Yet, 
let  my  friend  from  New  York  know,  that  even 
under  these  circumstances  wc  adiniiii.stcred  justice 
and  rcspecU'd  the  laws  of  God.     And  I  assure 


him,  ihnt  had  \\f  Uc.t.n  there,  he  would  havr  necn, 
that  although  olficers  and  a  penal  code  w<r(  want- 
ing, when  a  murder  or  other  felony  was  ctunmil- 
ted,  a  jury  was  cmpannclled,  and  if  the  axuscd 
was  fouiul  guilty  by  his  peers,  agallows  wan  erect- 
ed and  he  haiigi:d.  Debts  were  colh^cled  uii  regu- 
larly as  they  now  are;  and  law,  by  the  ccmmoii 
consent  of  the  people,  was  virtually  enforced. 

Mr.  Chairman,  comparisons  arc  said  to  bo 
odious.  I  will  not,  therefore,  attempt  tn  draw 
any  between  the  people  of  the  old  and  new  States, 
however  advantageous  to  the  latter  I  may  think 
the  contrast  would  be.  Sir,  Daniel  Uoonc,  of 
wliimt  I  have  before  spoken,  was  tlie  type — the 
iinbodiment  of  all  the  marked  characteristics  of 
the  frontier  men;  and  being  so,  I  can  with  con- 
fidence appeal  from  the  character  which  tae  gcn- 
tleinim  from  Virginia  [Mr.  Pendleton]  has  given 
them  to  the  gcnci-al  estimate  which  mankind  nave 
awarded  to  their  great  prototype.  It  was  but  u 
few  months  since  that  a  deputation  of  grateful 
Kentuckians  (amongst  whom  was  the  eloquent 
John  J.  Crittenden,  who  did  justice  to  his  mem- 
ory) visited  Boone's  humble  grave  in  Missouri, 
whence  they  bore  his  bones,  to  dcposite  them  in 
the  place  of  his  early  home — in  the  once  "  dark 
and  liloody  land"  of  his  younger  days,  now  the 
flourishing  and  populous  Stiite  of  Kentucky. 

Lord  Byron,  in  speaking  of  Boone,  in  bis  early 
settlement  in  the  West,  says: 

"  Crime  cniiiK  not  near  liiin— »lic  in  not  the  cliilil 
ormililiiilis  Ik'IiIiIi  r<liriiiik  iiol  rroni  liiia— tor 
ilcr  liuiiiu  ii  ill  tlie  riui'ly  Irotldeii  wild.  . 

*  *  «  *  * 

ill!  nni  not  ull  nlnne:  nroiinil  liiin  grew 
A  H)liuu  trilic  orcliilclrrii  of  the  I'lmnc, 

WlioHii  young,  uawukcii'd  world  wiu  evtT  new. 

»  •  •  *  * 

And  mil  and  Klron?  nnd  swin  of  loot  wcrn  Itiey, 
Ucyoiid  Ui^  dwarling  i'ily'8  imli!  iiliortioii!>.  '^ 

The  prcwnl  cnsc  in  point  f 
rite  Is,  ihnt  Boone  lived  liiintini!  up  to  ninety; 
And  wIml'H  nIHI  i<tniniier,  let)  heliind  n  nnnie — 

t'oT  n'liieh  men  viiinly  deeiiniili!  tlic  tliroiii{, — 
Not  only  ruiiioiin,  but  ot'tliut  good  I'niiie 

Williuut  wliieli  glory  '.H  lull  ii  tnverii  fong— 
Simple,  sereni',  Ilie  nnlipodes  ofiilmme, 

Wliieli  lintv  norenvy  e'er  could  tinge  with  wrong. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  know  well  the  vast,  the  fearful 
odds  that  I  must  encounter  in  shivering  a  lance 
with  the  talented  and  eloquent  gentleman  from 
South  Carolina,  [Mr.  Woodwaud,]  who  has  just 
preceded  me,  ond  whoso  argumenti\tivc  and  im- 
passioned speech,  I  admit,  did  honor  lo  his  head, 
nowcver  erroneous  I  may  nnd  do  believe  his  views 
to  be.  That  gentleman,  after  a  sort  of  general  in- 
dictment of  those  whom  he  styles  liis  opponents 
for  their  "  declamation  and  interminable  uiscourse 
upon  our  title  to  Oregon,"  &c.,  asks,  in  a  strain  of 
great  apparent  indignation,  "  Who,  sir,  denies  that 
'  wc  have  rights  in  Oregon,  or  that  they  must  be 
'  defended .'  Who  desires  tlic  country  to  fall  into 
'  the  hands  of  the  British.'  Who  is  opposed  to  its 
'  selllenient  ?  Who  is  not  ready  to  vote  all  such 
'  laws  as  may  be  essential  to  the  well-being  of  our 
'people  there?"  Sir,  the  gentleman  from  South 
Carolina  has  not  paid  that  attention  to  the  de- 

bate on  Oregon  iliat  some  others  have,  or  he  would 
not  have  asked  a// these  questions.  I  know  of  no  one 
in  cither  IIou.sc  of  Congress  who  has  asserted  that 


8 


we  hnvr  no  "  rights  in  Orrpfon,"  or  whn  lins  ex- 
prcHHrd  tlic  uIhIi  ilmi  itmt  cininlry  hIhuiM  t'lill  iiilo 
the  hiinilsiif  llic  llriliHli;  but  I  do  know,  Kir,  "  who 
nro  o|)|)ohimI  to  its  Mctllonicnt,"  anil  "  wlio  nrr 
not  ready  to  vole  Nurli  InwH  lis  niMV  It  rvsrnliiil  to 
the  wcll-lxiiif^  of  our  pioplo  llicrc.^'  Tlic  two  dis- 
linpiiNlird  Seniilors  from  llic  i;i  iitlcfniin'N  own 
Suite,  [Mi'N^rs.  C\i.iii>r.Vinul  McDi  riiK,|  neiihrr, 
as  I  understand,  donlilinD^  the  vnlidiiy  of  our  lille, 
luid  one  of  lliein  havini^  made  u  most  roneltiMive 
nri^umenl  in  iiH  favor,  nr<'  liolh  oppoNed  to  the  set- 
tlement of  the  territory  in  (piesiior  and  are  not 
ready  to  vole  .siirh  laws  ns  may  he  essential  to  the 
well-hein^  of  our  people  there,  unless  a  "  chnnre 
has  come  o'er  the  spirit  of  iheir  dreams,"  whieli, 
I  fear,  is  not  the  ease.  They  hoih  spoke  and  voleil 
ai^ainst  Dr.  Linn's  hill,  whieh  made  jirovision  for 
ihesc  ihinijs,  and  ilid  iint  intrrfrrr  irilli  the  r/iif.Wi«)i 
of  notice  tit  nil.  One  of  them,  I  Mr.  MenifFfK.)  in 
a  speeeh  delivered  hut  two  sliort  year.?  .sinee  on 
the  floor  of  the  Senate,  in  si)eakuig  of  Oregon, 
Haid  : 

"  VVIiy,  sir,  nf  wliiit  iHo  will  it  1)0  fur  ncririilliirnl  piir- 
pnnDi .'  I  wcinlil  not,  fnr  ihni  piirjiiixi',  nivc  ii  piiicli  <pf«iiiiir 
i'lir  the  Hliiili'  tcrrilory.  I  rhlt  lo  (lo<l  ue  ilid  not  nxni  it ;  I 
wIhIi  it  wni*  111!  iiii|iiii<;<iiMi^  harrier,  to  i<(  riire  iih  uioiiiiHt  Uie 
nUriHion  of  iillicrM.  Who  are  wl*  Ki  send  iliire.'  Ilo  yon 
think  your  holiest  rnriibrri  in  rcniisylvanii.  New  Vork,  or 
evpn  Ohio  or  Mi'sonri,  will  iihamloa  ilipir  liiriim  to  go  n|M)n 
any  Hiii'h  I'litirprise  an  lliir^.'  (<o(l  I'oiliiil.  I'any  iniin  who 
IH  to  Kii  to  that  coaiilry  miiiIit  thi^  liiaptaiions  ol'  iliiH  hill, 
WHS  my  eliilil— if  lie  wan  iia  honewt  nail  !iiilnstriiaiN  inun — I 
would  i-ny  to  him,  Foi  'iod'n  Haki',ilo  not  RoiliiTe;  yon  will 
not  better  your  conilition;  yon  will  exehiiime  the  <'oiiirortH  of 
home,  mill  the  liiippiiii'sH  of  nvili/.id  lil'r,  tiir  the  paiiiH  and 
|ierilH  of  a  prceaiions  I'vimniee.  lint  if  I  had  n  koii  whose 
I'ondnirt  iiiaili'  hiiii  a  lit  xalijeet  lor  llotany  Ray,  I  wiiiild  xiiy. 
In  the  nniiie  of(>od.i.'o.  This  is  my  I'stinmlvof  the  iiiiport- 
aiice  of  the  mllleinenl."' 

Lnnguace  sueh  ns  llii>',  sir,  and  cominp;  from  a 
source  NO  distinguished,  and  followed  up,  as  it  lias 
been,  by  the  o]iposilion  of  South  Carolina  to  this 
question,  in  almost  every  shaiie  in  which  it  ha.s 
made  its  at)pcarance,  may  serve  to  account  for 
some  of  the  notices  that  have  been  taken  of  the 
course  of  her  Rcnrescntative.s  in  both  Houses  of 
Congress,  and  inmcr  which  the  gcutleniun  and  !ii.j 
'•ollcagiics  seem  to  be  so  restive. 

Nothing  was  done,  says  the  gentleman  from 
South  Carolina,  throughout  five  Adiniiiistrations, 
towards  abrogating  this  eonvonlion;  and  whilst  he 
eachews,  in  j'art,  tlie  policy  of  masterly  inactivity, 
which,  he  says,  it  has  suited  the  purpo.ses  of  gen- 
tlemen to  rcpicscnt  as  a  "mitli  Carolina  scheme, 
he  remarks,  "  I  am  proud  to  be  able  to  say,  that 
'  there  is  no  other  difl'crenec  between  General  jack- 
'  son  and  ourselves, on  this  subject,  than  this:  while 
'  lie  was  not  only  unwilling  togive  the  notice  liini- 
'  self,  but  oppo.sed,  also,  to  the  enactment  of  any 
'  laws  for  Oregon  which  might  induce  Great  Brit- 
'  ain  to  give  the  notice,  we  arc  opooscd  to  .lotice 
'  only,  find  are  in  favor  of  laws;  wliile  he  declined 
'  both  to  give  notice  or  to  take  the  risk  of  receiving 
'  it,  we  are  prcjiarcd  to  take  that  risk." 

1  was  rejoiced  to  hear  the  gentleman  say  that  he 
was  prepared  to  take  the  risk  of  exlending  our 
laws  over  Oregon — for  this  is,  in  fact,  the  kernel 
of  the  whole  matter.  His  sincerity  and  willing- 
ness to  do  what  he  has  avowed,  1  doubt  not;  and  I 
hope  that  the  term  "ourselves,"  is  intended  to  em- 
brace, not  only  his  colleagues  on  this  floor,  but 


those  in  the  other  wing  of  ihis  f'apilol,  whose  volCH 
are  so  highly  essential,  but  I  fear  will  never  ho 
given,  for  any  measure  looking  to  the  oerupation 
and  selllemeiit  of  Oregon.  Hut  let  us  see  if  the  gen- 
llemiin  and  hii  colleagues  are  enlilled  to  the  credit 
of  being  as  good  Oregon  men  as  General  .Tackson 
was.  He  says  that  ihe  Jackson  ]iarly  of  IHiirt 
voled  down  the  bill  of  (Jovenior  Floyd.  1  do  not 
know,  sir,  how  this  may  be,  ns  I  have  no  nuaiis  of 
arriving  at  the  [lolitical  opinions  of  those  who  gave 
that  vote,  which  was  certainly  not  a  inirty  vote. 
Hul,  sir,  going  back  to  a  pniod  of  time  several 
years  anterior  to  that  of  which  he  s])eaks,  I  find 
that  oil  the  Ist  of  M.irch,  |H2"),  General  Jackson 
voted  in  the  Senate  of  Ihe  United  States  for  a  bill 
Inking  military  possession  of  Oregon;  establi.shing 
a  custoin-liou.se  at  the  moulh  of  the  Columbia,  and 
a  territorial  government, ns  soon  as  a  census,  which 
it  was  proposed  to  be  taken,  should  show  that 
there  were  two  (honsand  inhabitants  in  the  terri- 
torj  Ihit,  says  the  geiitleman,  the  Jlilminhtriitinnfi 
of  General  Jackson  and  Mr.  Van  nureii  jnirsued 
the  policy  to  which  South  f'arolina  now  adheres, 
and  nothing  v.as  said  in  condemnation  of  its  wis- 
j  liomand  propriety;  but  suddenly  there  is  a  tremen- 
dous excitement  which  has  sprung  up  in  regard  to 
I  Oregon.  The  vote  of  General  Jackson,  lo  which  I 
I  have  referred,  and  his  whole  pidicy  in  regard  to 
the  acquisition  of  territory,  and  his  known  devo- 
'  tion,  which  was  equally  entertained  by  ATr.  Van 
!  Ituren,  to  the  western  pioneer,  forbid  a  doubt  as 
I  to  what  were  their  views  on  this  (picstion.  Hut 
why,  sir,  did  not  these  illustrious  men  move  in  this 
mailer?  Why  did  they  not  feel  some  of  that  ex- 
citement which  now  animates  the  great  American 
heart.'  It  was  because  there  was  not  at  that  time 
an  American  settler  in  Oregon; and  now,  sir,  there 
are  from  m  vcn  to  ten  thousand,  imploring  protec- 
tion upon  our  own  soil,  against  a  powerllil,  over- 
bearing, and  murderous  Hritish  Company — I  mean 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company — which,  in  the  last 
twenty-five  years,  has  incited  the  numerous  fierce 
and  warliki^  savages  of  the  mountains  to  kill  and 
scalp  from  eight  liundred  to  a  thousand  American 
citizens,  lawfully  engaged  in  pursuing  the  Indian 
trade.  But,  sir,  I  will  give  a  further  answer  to  iho 
gentleman's  question,  by  asking  him  one,  which  I 
think  is  in  point.  Why  did  not  General  Jackson, 
as  President,  when  the  gallant  younj'  republic  of 
Texas  had  risen  in  her  strength,  and  thrown  off 
the  shackles  of  the  dictator,  .Santa  Anna,  who  had 
tram]dcd  her  constitution  under  his  feet,  and  forced 
her  people  to  assert  their  independence,  which, 
with  their  own  good  rifles  they  achieved,  and  af- 
terwards asked  to  be  admitted  into  the  American 
Union ; — why,  I  ask,  did  he  not  favorably  re- 
ceive their  application  and  recommend  their  admis- 
sion ?  Can  anyone  doubt  that  his  feelings  and 
sympathies,  then  warmly  aroused  by  the  cruel  and 
atrocious  manner  in  which  the  Mexicans  had  eon- 
ducted  the  war,  were  on  the  side  of  Texas  and  her 
admission  ?  I  answer,  none  will  dare  to  do  so;  and 
yet  he  did  nothing  to  favor  it,  and  actually  declined 
her  advances  !  Who  can  doubt  that  his  course  in 
this  matter  was  influenced  by  a  desire  to  let  public 
sentiment  act  upon  the  question .'  His  subsequent 
course  furnishes  the  answer  and  the  proof. 
Sir,  I  am  not  one  of  tlio.sc  who  believe  in  the  po- 


9 


(>i 


wlicmo  voipd 
ill  iii'Vfr  l)c 
"•;u|)nlii)ii 
i('llir;;(<n- 
ti>  llic  rrrdit 

I'll  .Tii('|<8on 
fly  .,r  1838 
I'     1  do  not 
•III  iiuatis  of 
>•('.  mIk) tjnvc 
J"irly  votn. 
line  Hcvcral 
•wiks,  I  find 
ml  JurkNon 
H  for  II  hill 
<Nlnl)li.sliinpf 
liiiiiliiii,  and 
iiNiiN,  which 
nIiow   tlint 
II  the  trrri- 
niiihlrntinns 
ri'ri  jiiirHiicd 
)\v  niihrrPH, 
of  iiN  wis- 
IH  M  Iromrn- 
n  rr!,"ird  to 
to  which  I 
rc;,'iird  to 
own  (Irvo- 
y  I\fr.  Van 
II  ilouht  aa 
iiion.     Rut 
lovc  in  ihi.s 
if  that  cx- 
Amcriran 
\i  that  lime 
'.  «ir,  there 
in;;  proleo- 
■idil,  ovcr- 
y — I  moan 
in  tho  last 
ron.s  ficrno 
1"  kill  and 
Amrrican 
tlie  Indian 
werto  the 
f,  which  I 
1  Jackson,     , 
npublic,  of 
lirown  ofT 
I  who  had 
ind  forced     . 
^,  which, 
d,  and  af-    , 
American 
rably  rc- 
'ir  admifi- 
linijs  and 
cnie!  and 
lind  con- 
s  and  her 

0  so;  and 
■  declined 
course  in 
et  public 
bscqucnt 

1  tlic  po- 


tcnry  of  Prf«idenlR — crrat  nnd  mJKlity  n»  wnd  the 
one  of  whom  I  am  now  Kpenkini; — or  CabinetH,  or 
Coii:;re»srH,  to  Nclllr  ijri'iil  ([ueMlions  of  thiM  c  liar- 
aclcr,  only  no  far  an  Ihcy  n-flcci  or  iii(!  Iiackcd  by 
the  will  of  ihc  pi'oiilc.  Sir,  we  hnvo  had  (ji'min- 
cialioti.H  from  ihr  VVlii(;  Hide  of  tluH  Hoii:<i!  loud, 
ImiL',  and  Ntiong,  aj^ainHt  the  rcMoliilion  adopted  by 
llie  Di'iuocratic.  convention  iM  (tnllimore  in  iiivor  of 
(lie  renniiexalion  of 'rexiiH  and  thu  rencciipalion  of 
Orej;(Mi.  'I'he  Democratic  party  has  been  charged 
with  drat'^in^  our  foreij;n  relations  into  llie  laic 
PreHidential  ele('lion,for  party  |iurpo8e.s,&c.  Now, 
sir,  I  waH  proud  of  that  "solution,  and  rei^arded 
ilH  inlroduction  and  adopii.in  an  hiijhl;  proper;  nnd 
I  will  lell  ;,'enllemen,  if  they  u'ive  the  i  UcMlion  now 
before,  uh  tho  (^o-hy,  that  they  will  lind  at  the 
nexl  I'reKidential  elci:tion,  not  Uemoci  it«  <inly,  but 
Whi^H  rem)lvinij  in  favor  of  On  ?on.  No  man  or 
parly  will  lie  able  to  make  even  u  decent  race  be- 
fore the  people  of  ihis  country  unle.iH  his  and  their 
viewp  on  thia  (pieMlion  are  known  to  be  in  favor  of 
Ore^;on — the  wliole  of  Oregon. 

Sir,  ns  1  havi;  before  wiid,  Texas  was  repul.Hed 
even  by  O'd  Hickory  oiid  a  Democratic  IIouhu  and 
.Senii  '•  •'  li  (I,  in  lH37,Nlie  first  a.sked  ailiiii.''sion,and 
that,  too,  nAcr  aho  hud  plaiilcd  the  tree  of  Amer- 
ican liberty  so  deep  in  her  luxuriant  Noil,  and 
inoiNtencd  it  ho  thoroujiihly  with  the  blood  of 'I'r.iv- 
In,  and  ('rockeit,  nnd  Fannin,  and  a  thouNand 
otherH,  that  its  life  and  growth  waN  beyond  the 
poNsibility  of  'i  doubt,  l!ut,  nir,  look  at  the  part 
which  this  same  immortal  man  acted  in  reference 
lo  ihis  very  (|ueNtion  at  a  sulisequent  time.  What 
Democrat,  at  li'asi,  Iuik  forgotten  the  pleasure  with 
which  he  read,  duriiii?  liie  lute  I'resideiilial  eanvuss, 
each  HucccNsive  letter  written  by  Andrew  Jackson 
from  the  Hermilni^e  in  favor  of  the  admi.saion  of 
Texas?  These  were  documents  not  emmiutinj; 
from  him  as  President,  but  as  i\  citizen  of  Tenncs- 
Nce,  a  voter  of  this  proud  Republic.  Nor,  sir,  in 
rousinu;  up  the  noble  apiri'.  uf  his  coiinlrynien  to 
thwart  and  circumvent  the  desif^nNof  Kiiiilish  diplo- 
macy upon  the  important  portion  of  the  Valley  of 
the  Mississippi  of  which  I  am  Npeakinp:,  did  he  for- 
t;et  to  admonish  them  of  the  necessity  of  lookiiifr  lo 
our  rights  on  the  Pacific,  which  he  said  \\t\  should 
nuiiiilain  at  the  camion's  mouth.  (lis  patriotism 
knew  no  Ixninds.  Western  soil  was  as  dear  and 
precious  to  him  aa  .southern,  or  northern,  or  east- 
I  rn.  Texas  annexation  and  admission  has  been 
Iriumplianlly  nnd  happily  coiiHunimatcd;  and  I  tell 
ijentlemen,  that  nothing  had  so  fi^rcnt  an  influence 
in  carrying  tliat  question  as  the  fixed  delerminalion 
of  the  American  people  to  resist  British  rapacity 
and  Ib'itish  domination  upon  this  continent, 

Mr.  (,'hairman,  I  ani  not  one  of  those  who  be- 
lieve, or  would  insinuate,  that  tliere  wns  a  barpnin, 
as  some  have  alleged, between  the  respective  fnends 
of  Oregon  and  Texas,  that  they  were  lo  be  carried 
pari  pax.iu;  for  as  has  been  truly  saiil  by  some  gen- 
llemen  from  the  West,  we  went  for  Texas  because 
we  wished  to  see  her  in  the  Union,  and  believed 
ihat  it  was  right  that  she  should  hi;  admitted.  IJiit, 
sir,  I  remember  well  when  western  members  came 
here,  in  1844,  full  of  hope  that  with  their  iniTeased 
strength  under  the  new  a]iportionment,  (Dr.  Linn 's 
Oregon  bill  having  passed  the  Senate,  nnd  been 
lost  ill  this  lluuae,  at  the  preceding  session.)  they 


would  be  enabled  to  cnrry  tliis,  tliejr  darling  mcn«- 
lire,  without  doubt, 

A  member  from  Missiniri  [Mr,  TTi  r^liF.n]  offered 
a  ."Holulion,  "declaring  it  as  the  oninion  of  ihi^ 
'  Ilou.se,  that  we  had  a  clcur  and  iMilispulnble  title 
'  to  llie  whole  rif  Oregon,  nnd  lluu  il  Wiis  the  duly 
'of  Ooveniment  lo  lake  possesHion  of  ils  territory 
'  on  ihe  norihwesi  coast,  &c."  And  a  geiiilemnn 
from  Georgia,  (Mr.  Ui,a(I(,|  dislingiiished  for  his 
zeal  in  support  of  the  re  aniiexalion  of 'I'lXas,  im- 
mediately moved,  as  an  amendment,  "  that  it  was 
'expedient,  and  conducive  lo  the  best  iuleresla  of 
'  the  country,  that  Texiei  should  be  re-:iniiexed  ns 
'  soon  as  it  could  be  accdnipiislud  upon  fair  ami 
'  legilimale  principles;''  which  wns  accepted  by  tin; 
mover  of  tho  oricinal  resolution,  I'Vom  ihal  liim! 
on  to  the  niee'oig  of  ihe  Rallimore  convention,  in 
which  the  suor  :s  were  again  united,  as  they  wern 
throughout  til  bole  Pri^.^idenlial  canvass,  il 
seemed  to  me  Ih  c  there  was  a  union  and  common 
undersiandii.  I"  .ween  the  friends  of  each,  which 
could  no,  Iiut  be  Mghly  conducive  to  the  success 
of  bot'  . 

Mr.  Olmirmnn,  by  v;\y  of  consolation  to  gomo 
gcnilcmen,  who  seem  to  nave  gotlen  into  rather  an 
awkward  po  ilioi.  upon  Ihis  (lUesiiMii,  and  who 
are  very  reuive  under  tiie  dread  of  the  applii'ntion 
of  parly  sere  v.':,  I  ask  them  to  call  to  their  rccol- 
lecliont  ihe  manner  in  which  a  preemineiilly  dis- 
tinguished menibir  of  Ihe  Democralic.  parly  [Col. 
Ukntos)  was  a.s.sailed  during  the  last  Congress  for 
his  course  on  the  Texas  (|iiestion.  All  'he  liell- 
hoi.nds  of  parly  were  let  loose  upon  him.  Not 
becaii.se  he  was  opposed  lo  the  measure — for  he 
had  been  ils  earliest  friend,  iiid  h.nd  invoked  Ihe 
curses  c.  Heav.  ii,  as  far  ba<'k  as  If^'JO,  upon  the 
heads  of  Ihe  men  who  had  consented,  by  the  trea- 
ty of  1819,  lo  dismeml'cr  the  valley  if  the  Mis- 
sissippi; l)ut  to  the  part'iruliir  form  in  which  it  then 
came  before  Congress;  or,  in  oilier  words,  to  the 
Tyli  r  treaty.  Yes,  sir,  "Old  l>ullion,"  who,  from 
time  whereof  llie  memory  of  man  rMinieth  not  lo 
the  contrary,  had  been  Ihe  very  Ajax  Telamon  of 
till'  Democratic  parly,  was  lo  be  read  out  of  il,  for 
daring  to  prefer  one  mode  of  doing  Ihe  thing  to  ano- 
ther; and  from  no  porli(m  of  the  country  were  tlicso 
denuiKiialions  against  him  more  fierce  or  intolerant 
than  froni  South  Caridiiia.  All  who  were  here  re- 
member the  manner  in  which  he  was  from  day  to 
day  assaulted  by  a  jmper  ("The  Spectator")  under- 
stood to  be  llie  South  Carolina  organ  at  the  seat  of 
Goverinnent;  and  also,  Ihe  uttempl  that  was  mado 
in  the  other  end  of  the  Capitol,  by  one  of  the  Sen- 
ators from  that  Slate  [Mr.  McDuflie]  lo  read  him 
out  of  the  party,  in  consequence  of  his  [Col.  Ren- 
ton's]  non-adherence,  as  was  alleged,  to  llie  Balti- 
more resolutions  in  favor  of  Texas.  All  this, 
mark  you,  sir,  wos  the  consequence  of  objection.-! 
to  tho  particular  form  in  which  the  subject  was 
then  presenteil;  for  he,  (Benton,)  when  it  came  up 
in  another  shniie,  spoke  and  voted  in  favor  of  the 
measure. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  have  been  astonished,  in  look- 
ing at  the  debates  upon  this  question,  lo  see  the 
manner  in  which  the  some  ground  has  been  trav- 
elled over  and  over  again,  from  1890,  tho  lime  at 
which  Governor  Floyd,  that  pioneer  in  the  Oregim 
movcmeni,  first  brought  forward  his  bill,  to  the 


10 


nroscnt.  Wliy,  sir,  a  oomjini-ison  of  Floyd's 
bill,  with  Ihe  discussions  upon  it,  and  tlie  bills  and 
discussions  of  the  present  duy.sliow  that  we  have 
not  only  not  been  progressive  upon  this  ciuestion, 
but  that  we  have  actually  retrograded ;  and  all,  sir, 
nil  owing  to  our  dread  of  giving  oflfence  to  Great 
Britain.  As  I  liave  before  stated,  Floyd's  bill  (a 
copy  of  which  I  now  hold  in  my  hand)  provided 
for  taking  military  possession  of  the  country,  es- 
tablishing a  custom-house  at  the  mouth  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, and  a  territorial  Government,  as  soon  as 
there  were  two  thousand  inhabitants,  (there  being 
at  that  time  none,)  over  whom  it  was  to  operate. 

The  far-seeing  and  enthusiastic  Doctor  Floyd, 
though  regarded  as  visionary  by  some,  and  by  oth- 
ers as  a  bold  projector,  continued  for  ten  long  years, 
(from  1820  to  ISaO,)  to  press  upon  Congress,  at  each 
successive  session,  this  his  favorite  measure;  and 
though  often  defeated,  he  liad  the  satisfaction,  to- 
wards the  close  of  his  Congressional  career,  to  see 
his  bill  passed  by  this  House  by  yeas  111,  nays  58. 
And  it  is  rather  a  singular  coincidence  that  a  gentle- 
man of  the  same  profession,  (Dr.  Linn,)  who  came 
into  the  Senate  years  after  Dr.  Floyd  had  left  this 
body,  should  have  taken  up  the  same  subject,  press- 
el  it  with  ihc  same  untiring  ardor  and  zeal  on  the 
attention  of  tlie  Senate  for  the  same  length  of  time, 
and  to  precisely  the  same  result—its  triumphant 
passage  through  the  Senate.  But,  sir,  wliat  is  most 
mortifying  to  me  is  the  fact,  now  staring  us  in  the 
face,  that  no  such  bill  as  either  Floyd 's  or  Linn 's  can 
now  be  passed  through  either  branch  of  Congress, 
and  we  are  almost  afraid  to  give  the  sim|)le  and 
peaceful  notice  itself.  How  altered  is  the  voice 
which  now  comes  fr-ra  the  "Old  Dominion"  to 
that  which  \yas  spoken  by  Floyd,  to  whose  mem- 
ory, in  consideration  of  his  early  and  constant  de- 
votion to  their  section  of  the  country,  I  trust  the 
people  of  Oregon  will  erect  a  monument.     [Mr. 


i: 


'•^cKLiv,  of  Illinois,  spoke  out  and  said:  "They 
should  call  their  seat  of  goverimienl  after  him."] 
Yes,  sir,  or  name  one  of  their  States  in  honor  of 
him. 

But,  sir,  it  is  not  the  voice  of  Virginia  only  on 
this  question  that  is  now  changed.  I  find  that,  in 
January,  1823,  even  little  Vermont,  the  "  Green 
Mountain"  State,  was  willing  to  look  "John  Bull" 
full  in  the  eye.  Yes,  sir,  williii-  and  anxious  to 
maintain  the  great  interests  of  the  country,  and 
especially  to  look  after  the  Jislting  interests  in  the 
direction  of  Oregon.  Twenty-three  years  ago,  in 
the  discussion  of  this  bill  in  this  House: 

"  Mr.  Miillaty,  of  Vermont,  said,  he  was  opposed  to  tlie 
proposed  amciidnient.  He  tlioiiu'lit  tliat  Coni;r(!ss  should 
tal<e  tlie  responsibility  of  ilirocting  the  occuiiation  of  the 
territory,  and  not  place  it  on  the  President.  It  was  not  to 
be  supposed  the  President  liad  more  information  than  is  in 
possession  of  tlie  House.  It  would  he  very  extraordinary 
that  tins  measure  should  he  siill'ered  to  progress  for  weeks, 
and  yet  some  di'ep  reimons  of  Slate  should  remain  undis- 
covered. For  one,  Mr.  M.  said,  he  was  willing  to  meet  the 
proper  responsibility  of  his  station,  and  not  cast  it  olTon  any 
other  department.  He  wished  an  occupation,  by  military 
force  only,  with  some  encouragement  to  settlers.  The  es"- 
tahlishmcnt  of  a  civil  governnieni  was  unnecessary  until 
tliere  were  people  over  whom  it  might  be  exercised.  ■•  * 
As  it  respects  the  occupation  of  the  territory  in  iiuestion, 
Mr.  M.  said  he  was  decidedly  in  its  favor.  'J'lie  advaiilnaes 
it  would  atl'ord  to  the  fisheries,  to  commerce,  and  to  the  fur 
trade,  had  been  most  clearly  shown.  We  are  at  peace  with 
the  world.  Our  means  are  abunilunt.  Should  we  be  here- 
after engaged  in  war,  a  place  of  uecuiity  would  be  provided 


for  the  millinnn  of  property  we  should  have  on  the  Pacific. 
Some  ttiouglit  tlie.  ineasiirc  visionary— f)o  hazardous  lor 
Americans  to  undertake.  Uow  olleii  arc  we  reminded  of 
American  enterprise .'  It  is  made  a  eonslant  boast ;  and  yet 
we  appear  to  be  alarmed  at  tlie  idea  of  occupying  our  own 
domain !  The  smalleat  nation  of  Kurope  would  not  fear 
the  undertaking ;  yet  wc  are  fearful  it  is  beyond  our  power. 
Portugal,  small  as  she  was,  did  not  hesitate  to  plain  her 
colonies  in  every  part  of  tlic  world.  Russia,  with  her  capi- 
uil  in  the  centre  of  Europe,  enclosed  with  walla  of  ice  one 
half  of  the'  year,  extends  her  colonies  and  comnicrce  to 
every  continent ;  and  yet,  with  all  our  enterprise,  we  dare 
not  venture  beyond  the  Rocky  mountains.  This  subject 
occupies  tt  great  share  of  public  attention  ;  it  is  anxiously 
looked  flir;  the  interest  and  enterprise  of  the  nation  reiiuires 
the  adoption  of  the  proposed  measures.  *  •  •  » 
"  Mr.  M.  said  his  feelings  were  not  much  excited  by  the 
subject.  The  passage  of  this  measure  would  secure  the 
possession  of  that  portion  of  our  ilominioii  to  ourselves, 
and  prevent  on  eucroaehmcnt  upon  it  by  others." 

1  especially  commend  the  extract  which  I  have 
read  from  the  admirable  and  statesman-like  speech 
of  Mr.  Mallary  to  the  consideration  of  the  present 
Representatives  from  Vermont,  and  especially  to 
the  gentleman  [Mr.  Foot]  who  discoursed  so  elo- 
quently last  evening  in  opposition  to  the  "  notice," 
and  so  vividly  held  up  before  us  the  horrors  of 
war  with  which  it  would  seem  he  apprehends  we 
are  soon  to  be  visited,  unless  we  "  lay  low  and 
keep  dark." 

This  discussion,  mai-k  you,  Mr.  Clmirman,  was 
in  1823,  but  five  years  after  tlie  treaty  of  joint  oc- 
cupancy had  been  entered  into,  and  to  show  that 
Great  Britain  had  no  claim  at  that  time  to  the  soil 
or  jurisdiction  of  Oregon;  and  that  the  convention 
of  1818  was  only  designed  to  confer  upon  her  some 
commercial  privileges,  such  as  the  navigation  of 
the  waters,  trading  with  the  natives,  die.  1  find 
that  none  of  tlwse  who  then  opposed  the  bill  of  Dr. 
Floyd,  did  so  or\,  the  frrotmds  of  interference  with 
lirilish  rights  in  any  shape.  Mr.  Tracy,  of  New 
York,  made  a  long  and  able  speech  in  opposition 
to  it,  (Vom  which  1  will  read  an  extract  to  prove 
what  I  have  said,  and  I  ask  the  especial  attention 
of  gentlemen  to  it,  that  it  may  be  seen  how  the 
opponents  of  Oregon  have  shifted  their  ground: 

"  He  believed  that  he  should  succeed  in  satisfjmg  the 
House  that  there  was  connected  with  tliis  scheme  no  objects 
of  national  advantage  which  would  justify  tlie  very  consid- 
erable expense  which  cxiieriincnts  must  occasion  ;  and  that 
the  country  generally,  but  peculiarly  the  mouth  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, atroriled  none  of  those  attractions  with  whieii  tlie 
fancy  of  the  gentleman  had  decorated  it.  Hut,  said  Mr.  T., 
if  I  had  not  thought  that  this  measure  involved  coiiseipiences 
of  more  importance  than  tlie  useless  waste  of  a  few  tlioiisaiid 
of  dollars,  however  Utopian  Ihc  views  of  its  advocates  might 
have  appeared  to  me,  I  should  have  rested  my  opposition  on 
a  silent  vote  against  it;  but  it  docs  seem  to  ine  that  tliis  bill 
involves  a  principle  of  great  national  consequcnce^a  prin- 
ciple which  he  was  sure  this  House  was  not  prejiarcd  to  es- 
tablish, without,  at  least,  pausing  to  reflect  on  its  nature  and 
importance  i  I  allude,  said  Mr.  T..  to  the  principle  of  colo- 
nization which  is  contained  in  the  liill.       •        *        »        » 

"IMihtary  posts  should  be  placid  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
tecting an  existing  frontier  popiibilion,  but  not  for  the  pur- 
pose of  attracting  our  popiilaticm  loan  expose:! sitiiatiiui.  Itn 
natural  tendency  is  to  diffuse.  Its  limits  are  already  suf- 
ficiently  large  ;  as  it  beeonu's  more  ileiisc  it  will  i^xtend 
them ;  Imt  ll  is  not  Uie  true  policy  of  tlie  Uoverniiient  to  invite 
it-s  dispersion.     •♦»*«•»♦• 

"  Another  important  inducement  which  Is  urged  for  the 
■idoplionof  this  measure  is  the  influence  which  aseltlement 
on  the  coast  would  have  to  ipiiet  l\\(:  prepostrrniis  claims, 
and  jircvent  the  dangerous  (^ncroaihments  of  the  Uu.ssian 
Government.  The  gentleman  had  dwelt  much  on  the  ex- 
travagant and  ridiculous  pretensicms  which  had  been  ad- 
vanced by  the  Russian  Minister,  in  his  correspondence  with 
our  Guvernnicnt  on  tlie  subject  of  thii  comitr/.    Mr,  T. 


11 


inid  thiit  tic  liolipvi  il  no  (rpnilrinnn  r.iuld  ontortain  nsoiioiis 
appri'hrnhinn  tlint  llio  Kin|H'ror  of  Itiissia  Imcl  fver  tliiiimlit  i 
of  <'nf*>rciiii(  tliopc  protcnsiiiiiH.  Ili'  bi'lii-ved  llioy  wori;  tlio  I 
alistrnut  apcriilnlioiis  (if  n  (liplDiniitiHt,  who  had  iin  object  in 
prcsi'iitinx  tliciii  liiit  to  niiiiiso  liin  iiiaiitcr  by  bis  iiiKcniiity, 
aad  to  Kliow  liiH  ou  ii  ndroitiic8H  in  dcl'rndini;  lUnciru!  titli^s 
to  wild  and  unoccnpit'd  territory.  ■  *  *  Any  Hti-p  whicli  lie 
eliiill  take  to  eniorve  this  moHt  absurd  and  unjust  preten- 
tion, ran  be  rPKarditd  as  nntliinij  leas  than  an  uel  of  direct 
hostility  a^tninst  us;  but  it  will  be  an  act  which  a  pitil'ul 
pirrison  at  the  mouth  ol  the  ('olumbia  can  neitlier  avert 
nor  avence.  »»•»••  «•• 
'<  Mr.  T.  said  lie  waa  ready  to  admit  Hint  neither  Kiie- 
land,  Spain,  nor  Kussin,  bad  the  riulit,  or  probably  would 
have  till'  dispotiition,  to  complain  of  the  nieasiire.  Hut  he 
was  sorry  that  bis  colleiiKue  had  forgotten,  that  nlthiMi);li 
neither  of  these  nations  had  a  riifht  to  objecl,  there  was  a 
peo|)le  who  had :  he  alluded  to  the  present  iiiliahitiints  and 
true  proprietors  of  the  country.  The  Indians  of  tliiit  const, 
he  had  heard,  were  numerous  and  warlike,  and  he  did  not 
believe  they  would  regard  with  complacency  a  military  es- 
tablishment nmouR  them,  lie  had  no  doubt  but  it  would 
involve  us  in  i.  war  with  tliem." 

Thus,  sir,  in  1823,  red  skins  were  held  up  to 
frighten  us  from  llie  occupaliou  of  Oregon — now, 
red  jackets. 

Sir,  it  lias  been  .said,  in  many  portions  of  the  coun- 
try, and  broadly  intimated  at  the  rommenccment 
of  this  debate,  tlmta;entlcmen  from  the  We.st  were 
anxious  for  the  adoption  of  thi.s  nofire,  because, 
if  war  .should  bu  its  resulting  conserjuence,  they 
would  be  out  of  all  danger,  and  would  have  ilii: 
opportunity  of  growing  rich  upon  the  mi.sfortunes 
of  their  country.  1  repel  the  charge.  I  repel  it, 
a.s  being  myself  n  western  man,  and  a  native  of 
the  Stale  of  Mi.s.souri.  When  and  v'icre  luis  il 
happened  in  the  hislnry  of  this  country,  thai  l"'r 
rights  have  ever  been  assailed,  and  her  soil  threat- 
ened by  an  invader,  thai  the  men  of  the  West  have 
not  come  to  the  rescue,  and  pmired  out  their  blood 
like  water  in  the  nation ".s  defence?  1  ask  gcnilo- 
nicn,  wlio  put  forth  a  charge  .so  unfounded,  to  call 
to  mind  the  events  of  the  last  war  with  Great  Brit- 
ain, niid  those  of  the  Florida  war.  Sir,  Richard 
H.  Gentry,  of  Kentucky,  then  a  citizen  of  iVlis- 
souri,  who  had  stood  side  l)y  side  with  Colo- 
nel Kichard  M.  Johnson  nl  the  bailie  of  the 
Thames,  uijon  nn  intiinalion  that  their  services 
were  needed,  rallied  around  him  a  regiment  of  gal- 
lant volunteers,  and  marched  fnini  the  confines  of 
Missouri  to  the  swanijis  and  fasliiess.is  of  Florida, 
I  lieu  tlio  llicalrc  of  savage  warfare  in  all  ils  hor- 
rors. I  ask  genllcmcn  to  remember  how  that  man 
and  his  brave  followers  bore  themselves  in  the  bat- 
lie  of  Okcec'iober,  fought  in  Florida  on  the  25th 
of  December,  |Kt7.  Sir,  they  marched  upon  the 
enemy,  who,  though  concealed  from  view,  were 
known  to  b.  strongly  posted  and  lying  in  wait  to 
deli Viu- a  deadly  fire  upon  tiie  advancing  column. 
At  the  head  of  that  cdlumn,  sir,  with,  his  face  lo 
the  enemy,  an.l  animaliiighis  men  on  lo  the  charge, 
the  heroic  and  lamcnlid  Gentry  fell,  jierfornted  with 
bullets,  in  the  arms  of  death,  one-sixth  of  his  en- 
tire comm.and  being  either  killed  or  wounded. 
Among  the  latter  was  his  son,  (Harrison  Gentry,) 
whose  conduct,  like  that  of  hi.s  sire,  is  so  honora- 
i)ly  iTientioiii'd  in  a  public  order  of  the  brave  ami 
just  old  General  Gaines.  Sir,  do  fiicis  like  these 
t'lnnisii  no  eviilencc  that,. should  w.ir  come,  genlle- 
nirn  would  find  the  people  of  ihe  Wesl  by  their 
:iile  whenever  it  was  iei|uired  to  present  a  iVont  to 
ilie  foe.     Sir,  to  defend  ourselves  against  an  accu- 


sation sn  monstrous,  wc  can  appeal  to  the  battle- 
fields of  the  Ilaisi.i,  the  Thames,  of  Now  Orleans, 
and  to  the  bones  of  the  Mis.sourians — once  my 
friends  and  neighbors — scattered  through  the 
hammocks  and  everglades  of  Fit  rida:  they  attest 
our  fidelity  to  the  Union  and  to  every  portion 
of  it. 

Sir,  an  insinuation  was  thrown  out  here  by 
a  gentleman  from  South  Carolina,  [Mr.  Riiett,] 
that  the  demand  to  maintain  the  national  honor 
came  with  a  bad  gi,ii-e  from  men  who,  in  private 
life,  did  not  themselves  recognise  the  binding  force 
of  lionor's  code;  and  who  would  condemn  to  a 
felon's  grave  the  man  who,  in  private  combat,  de- 
fended his  honor. 

[Mr.  Hoi.MEs  hero  interpDscd.  He  said  his 
colleague  was  not  present,  hut  it  was  due  to 
him  lo  say,  that  that  gentleman  never  had  meant 
to  insinuate  that  gentlemen  in  the  West  did  not 
recognise  tlie  laws  of  honor  to  their  fullest  extent. 
Mr.  H.  had  found  the  same  feeling  on  that  subject 
in  the  West  which  prevailed  in  the  South;  nnd  it 
was  of  as  much  strength  there,  aa  anywhere  else, 
in  the  country.] 

I  do  not  know  what  scope  the  gentleman  in- 
tended his  remarks  to  liave;  as  I  understood  him, 
they  embraced  the  West.  And  I  am  glad,  on 
account  of  the  jiersonal  respect  which  I  have 
always  enlerlained  for  him,  to  hear  this  disclaim- 
er from  his  colleague.  1  did  not,  of  course, 
understand  the  reinurk  as  having  any  nersonal 
application  to  me.  or  il  would  never  have  been  no- 
ticed here;  and  1  had  only  this  to  say,  that,  whilst 
I  do  not  esteem  il  a  matter  to  be  boasted  of,  there 
are  some  portions  of  the  Wesl  in  which  as  much 
chivalry,  even  of  this  sort,  has  been  displayed  as 
in  any  part  of  the  world.  And  if  duels  be  the 
proof,  I  have  yet  to  hear  of  the  spot  upon  which 
more  of  them'  have  been  fought — closer,  better 
fought — than  upon  "  Hloody  Island,'' in  Illinois, 
opposile  lo  the  city  of  St.  Louis. 

Mr.  Chairman,  so  fitr  as  my  constituents  and 
myself  arc  concerned,  I  can  truly  say,  that  we 
have  ever  entertained  and  cherished  towards  the 
southern  section  of  the  Union,  feelings  of  the  most 
friendly  description.  My  associations  with  south- 
ern gentlemen  here  and  elsewhere,  have  been  of 
the  UK  (..easing  character.  Opposition  to  this 
measuie,  in  whii-h  I  feel  so  much  interest,  comes 
from  the  JN'orth  as  well  as  the  South.  I  cast  no 
imputation  on  those  who  oppose  il — they  act  un- 
der the  responsibility  that  they  owe  to  their  con- 
.slihients  and  country,  and,  I  iloubt  not,  ^onceive 
Ihey  are  doing  their  duty.  I  trust  they  will  award 
to  us  the  same  integrity  of  purpose,  and  will  not, 
as  rumor,  with  her  thousand  tongues,  has  done, 
altribu'e  our  cour.se,  on  this  occasion,  lo  a  mere 
disgracelul  .scramble  for  the  Presidency.  Sir,  wc 
scout  and  trample  the  insimialion  under  our  feet. 

Hut  justice  should  be  done  here  to  a  dislin- 
guishcd  statesman  from  the  West,  [Mr.  Benton;] 
portions  of  whose  early  speeches  in  support  of  our 
rights  on  'the  Pacific  1  was  astonished  to  hear 
ipioled  by  gentlemen  opposed  to  Oregon.  When 
lliat  emiiieiil  man  .said  lliat  the  god  Terminus  had 
planled  his  foot  on  the  top  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains, as  a  limit  lo  the  boundaries  of  our  Republic 
on  the  Wt.sl,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 


12 


lU'i-cat  "  South  Piiss"  througli  iliose  mountains  lind 
not  then  liccn  discovered;  tli;it  distiince  lind  not 
then  been  aniiiliilated  by  the  npplicntion  of  steam. 
Sir,  that  man's  pen  was  enijiloycd,  even  before  his 
entrance  into  public  life,  in  pointing  out  tlic  im- 
mense vnhie  of  our  possessions  on  tiie  northwest 
c:)ast,  and  the  blessings  and  benefits  that  would 
result  to  our  Government  and  people  fi-oni  its 
occupancy  and  settlement.  His  first  speeches  on 
entering  the  Senate  were  made  in  vindication  of 
our  title,  which,  in  his  masterly  manner  of  argu- 
ment, he  cstnWiahed  beyond  all  doubt.     He  did 


more,  sir.  Having  jirovcd  our  title  to  bo  "  clear 
and  unquestionable,"  he  said  that  we  were  ac- 
countable that  republican  and  not  monarchical  in- 
stitutions .should  bo  iilantcd  upon  it;  and  with  that 
sagacity  for  which  he  is  so  remarkable,  he  pre- 
dicted, twenty-five  years  ago,  that  unless  we  acted 
promptly  and  efficiently,  \ve  would  have  to  fight 
the  British  for  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  A^nd 
to  show  how  far  he  was  in  advance  r.'the  men  of 
that  time,  both  his  colleagues  [Mes.srs.  Barton  and 
Bates]  spoke  and  voted  against  Oregon , 


>  bo  "clear 
c  were  nc- 
nrchirn!  in- 
(1  with  that 
Ac,  he  pre- 
ss we  acted 
we  to  fight 
nbia.  And 
the  men  of 
Burton  and 


